KA - 2 Behaviourism

Question 1

behaviourism assumptions

Answer 1

• human behaviour is learnt (stimulus generates a response)
• behaviour should be studied objectively
• rejects introspection as it is too vague
• aim for high control and objectivity
• all humans born as ‘tabula rasa’
• nothing is innate

Question 2

what is clASSical conditioning

Answer 2

learning through ASSociation - 2 stimuli together drive a response

Question 3

key studies

Answer 3

Pavlov’s dogs, little albert rat

Question 4

how did Pavlov’s dogs use classical conditioning models

Answer 4

BEFORE: food(UCS) —> salivation(UCR)
DURING: bell(NS) + food(UCS) —> salivation(UCR)
AFTER: bell(CS) —> salivation(CR)

Question 5

what is operant conditioning

Answer 5

learning through rewards and consequences

Question 6

what will rewards and consequences do

Answer 6

rewards will strengthen behaviour
consequences will weakness behaviour

Question 7

what is positive reinforcement

Answer 7

add a positive stimulus to encourage the good behaviour again

Question 8

what is negative reinforcement

Answer 8

subtraction of a negative stimulus to strengthen good behaviour

Question 9

key study of operant conditioning

Answer 9

Skinner’s box:
PR - when the rat presses the lever it gets a food pellet
NR - electrify floor of box so pressing the lever turns it off

Question 10

evaluation of Skinner’s box

Answer 10

pros:
- scientific as the variables are highly controlled, repeatable
cons:
- unethical
- animals are not humans so not generalisable
- lacks ecological validity

Question 11

pros of the behaviourist approach

Answer 11

• It is scientific so it is high control of variables -> can establish cause and effect relationships. High control also allows for replication -> check for consistency of findings and reliability
• Practical application -> token economy based of operant conditioning -> system of desirable behaviours so get token for good behaviour and can trade in tokens for something you want. Can be used in prisons, schools, parental gain -> real world behaviour modification

Question 12

cons of the behaviourist approach

Answer 12

• Only look at observable behaviours -> ignore cognition -> leads to incomplete understanding/explanation and ignores individual difference in thoughts
• Scientific so lacks ecological validity as it is in a control environment -> lab setting, hoping for fewer extraneous variables so not true to everyday life -> lacks accuracy to the real world so lacks validity
• It is unethical -> unnecessary pain to animals -> cannot generalise as human’s brains are more complex and developed.
• However, token economy is short term. When token is removed the good behaviour stops. Unethical? -> strips away rights in prisons to earn them back -> can be dehumanising.